One of the vandalized vehicles in the community

By Eben Enasco Kingsley, Benin City

Property valued at about N40 million such as luxury cars, houses and personal effects were destroyed recently when armed thugs wielding axes and shot guns allegedly invaded the Ogheghe-Osewende community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Council of Edo state.

Although it was reported that no lives were lost, but some of the
community dwellers who were eye witness recounts that many of the lost valuables were deliberately destroyed and stolen as others sustained life threatening wounds whilst others like two aged women who were home when the incident occurred are still on danger list from the attacks, at an undisclosed private clinic.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that,One of them said the thugs, who were led by one ‘Yellow-man’, from the neighboring Amagba community, came in different vehicles to the quiet community in search of the Youth leader, Comrade Daniel Omoregbe,who they accused of misappropriating a disputed land to Ogheghe-Osewende.

When contacted, Comrade Omoregbe said, the land in question was not in dispute as the Ogheghe-Osewende community had secured a ruling in its favour against Uhue community, who were laying claims to it, from the Supreme Court of the then Western region sitting at Ibadan in 1942.

He further narrated that Ogheghe-Osewende community has secured several other court rulings over the land in question, in its
favour,against the Uhue community including one from the Palace of the Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa CFR, in 2012, another from the Edo state assembly in 2015, amongst others.

Omoregbe, reiterated that, his community which is now deserted lost properties and cash amounting to N40m after the dastardly attack, listed 4 of his personal vehicles including a Toyota Highlander, a Peugeot 307, Mercedes Benz C class 320 and a Ford
Bus which were destroyed by the thugs.

Displaying pictures of the destruction, he said, “The thugs were led
by Yellow-man who said he is untouchable. He demolished several windows in my house while my wife who is pregnant and is a nursing mother as well as my son was inside…my borehole and generator shed was vandalized in the process”.

He said that. “Our lives in the community are in danger. We have asked the Police to move in and protect us; although the DPO has sent his men on regular patrol many of my people have not returned to their houses since the invasion as they are afraid that the thugs may return”.

Other community dwellers said besides the destruction in the home of the Youth leader, the thugs who began by going to the palace of the traditional ruler HRH Michael Ogbonwan,drove him and his household into the nearby forest by shooting sporadically before ransacking adjourning houses,demolishing doors and windows and assorted vehicles in the process.

Confirming the incidents, the State Police Command Public Relations
Officer, DSP Stanley Osifo Abiodun said that the Divisional Police
Officer in New Etete near Benin City was on top of the situation as
some arrests have been made, while some policemen have been deployed to regularly patrol the community to forestall a re-occurrence of the episode.